N.C. beaches rank third in nation in report

Wednesday

Jun 26, 2013 at 4:45 PM

Since 2008, North Carolina has had some of the cleanest beaches in the nation

By Will DraboldWill.Drabold@StarNewsOnline.com

Since 2008, North Carolina has had some of the cleanest beaches in the nation – and 2012 is no exception. A report released Wednesday by the Natural Resource Defense Council detailed the environmental health of thousands of vacation beaches nationally and rated them depending on how safe they were for swimmers. Rated third in the nation, out of 30 states, North Carolina's monitored beach samples exceeded national standards in 2012 only 2 percent of the time, according to the report, "Testing the Waters." The nation's worst state in the report, Ohio, had samples that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's standards 21 percent of the time, according to Jon Devine, the NRDC's senior water attorney, in a conference call. In North Carolina, elevated bacteria levels on beaches led to beach closings or advisories for 91 days in 2012, down from 126 days in 2011, according to the report. Beaches in the Wilmington region ranked highly, with only five beaches closing or having advisory days because of unsafe swimming water in Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties combined last year.Erin Bryan-Millush, an environmental specialist with the N.C. Department of Natural Resources who monitors beaches, attributed the clean water to proactive local governments and lower rain amounts than usual in 2012. There is no discharge of storm water runoff on a beach into the ocean in Pender, New Hanover or Brunswick counties, another reason water remains highly rated for swimming, Bryan-Millush said. Storm water runoff and sewer overflow are two of the top contaminators of beach water nationwide, Devine said. Both are more of a problem in years where hurricanes batter the North Carolina coast, Bryan-Millush said. Across the state, only 14 percent of monitored beaches exceeded state standards in 2012, while none exceeded more than 10 percent of state standards, according to the report. Statewide, 60 percent of contamination stemmed from storm water runoff, 48 percent from wildlife and 9 percent from unknown contamination sources. Concerns over EPA funding of beach monitoring programs also highlighted the NRDC's presentation of the report. "For the relatively small federal investment of less than $10 million, 30 states are monitoring their coastal and Great Lakes beaches," Devine said. "That's an investment we should keep." Bryan-Millush said that if EPA funding were cut to the state's Beach Water Quality Program, her staff would go from monitoring 240 sites to less than 100. "Statewide, North Carolina generally has pristine water," she said.

Will Drabold: 343-2016On Twitter: @willdrabold

North Carolina beaches are third cleanest in the nation.2 percent of samples exceeded national standards for designated beach areas in 2012.1 percent of samples exceeded the state's daily maximum bacterial standard for the 229 reported beaches.

Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick beach ratings: Surf City Beach: 3 stars*^Topsail Beach: 4 stars**^Wrightsville Beach: 4 stars**^Carolina Beach: No star rating*Kure Beach: 3 stars*^Baldhead Island Beaches: No star rating*Oak Island: No star rating*Ocean Isle Beach: 4 stars**^Sunset Beach: 4 stars**^* Indicates less than 5% of water samples exceeded national standards in 2012.** Less than 5% of water samples exceeded national standards in 2010, 2011 and 2012.^ Beach monitored once a week.Note: all ratings out of 5 stars